


The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

by misura



Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Christmas, Community: lands_of_magic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 22:01:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5602609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>December was always a busy month for Crowley.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Самая чудесная пора в году](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12547800) by [Rainy_Elliot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainy_Elliot/pseuds/Rainy_Elliot)



Christmas was always one of the busiest times of the year for Crowley.

He generally started with his research somewhere around October - September if he felt that he hadn't been able to pay proper attention to what was currently 'in'* and what wasn't. The Internet had considerably simplified matters in this respect.

Researching what people liked and were likely to ask and/or gift one another, for example, had become a great deal easier. Rather a lot of people apparently saw nothing wrong with posting their wishlist for the world to see, or enthusiastically blogging about these 'very cute' sweaters they were knitting for their favorite family members. (Crowley didn't judge. He was perfectly familiar with the concept of sarcasm and in fact frequently employed it himself. Thus, he saw no reason to assume nobody could possibly deserve a green/red monstrosity with purple reindeer on it.**)

Interfering had also gotten far simpler and, more importantly, much more comfortable. Gone were the days when being a self-respecting demon meant you had to run around setting warehouses on fire; nowadays, a malfunctioning website on December 23rd was guaranteed for widespread misery and general feelings of unhappiness paired with wrath, and all it took were a few well-chosen words.

A small adjustment to the 'final holiday shipping dates' was likewise an all but guaranteed success. To say nothing of the dreaded 'Out of Stock' notice. True, nobody actually _meant_ it anymore when they told themselves that they'd sell their soul for whatever item their loved ones had assured them to be essential to their continued state of bliss, but it was the thought that counted.****

It was a bit like those people who still went to actual shops, only to discover that many more people had had the same idea at the same time and, worse, were after the same toy, book or video game. As far as Crowley was aware, nobody had ever _actually_ committed murder while Christmas shopping, but he took pride in ensuring that people thought about it. 

In conclusion, Crowley wouldn't go quite so far to say Christmas was his favorite time of the year, but sometimes, he was just the tiniest bit tempted.

Especially when he was having dinner with Aziraphale, basking in the 'peace on Earth and good will among all people' spirit that Crowley rarely, if ever, detected himself.

(The wine helped, of course. It was from an excellent year and, more importantly, the last bottle that the restaurant had had in its cellar, as the two gentlemen and their ladyfriends two tables away were soon to find out.)

**Author's Note:**

> * The word 'in', for example, had been 'out' for years now, Crowley's best (or worst) efforts notwithstanding.
> 
> ** In fact, you could say that of all people, Crowley knew better than anyone that there were plenty of people who did, in fact, deserve such sweaters. That they rarely _received_ them was, of course, not at all his department. Justice was much more Aziraphale's thing.
> 
> *** Once, after an exceptionally cheerful year, Crowley had celebrated Christmas on Antarctica. The penguins had never been quite the same since.
> 
> **** Or didn't count, as the case was. Crowley knew better than to try and take anyone up on it, but he still considered the fact that someone was thinking it a clear win.


End file.
